Clearly China’s musicians have been hard at work this year, because November sees the release of some impressive projects, from a new album by stripped-down Beijing rockers Lonely Leary (dedicated RADII readers might recall we listed the band as one to watch back in January), to an expansive, potential magnus opus of album by Shanghai jazz chanteuse Voision Xi. Also, don’t miss the two new albums from Ghostmass, a band which brings together ultra-experimental musician Yan Jun and Carsick Cars’ rhythm section. But don’t expect hushed sound poetry, nor slightly more outré than unusual indie rock. Instead, they play extremely heavy doom metal. Enjoy! – Editor.

Lonely Leary 孤独的利里 – Inter Ice Age 间冰期 

Beijing post punk outfit Lonely Leary — one of the scene’s most enduring acts — return with their latest LP, Inter Ice Age, which finds the band expanding their sonic palette whilst refining their poetic lyricism. While the band’s jagged instrumentation is still very much present, it’s refreshing to hear them shaking up the formula, and cutting loose: digging deeper into their surf rock roots and instrumental chops rather than just their steadfast blue-collar grit. At the same time, it’s a more patient album — one that’s more comfortable allowing its verses (equal parts specific and cryptic) to linger — conjuring an atmosphere and narrative of existential angst that feels all too familiar to those meandering through this seemingly regressing world. 

Voision Xi – Queen and Elf

Growing with wild exuberance, Voision Xi, the versatile Shanghai jazz songstress, strikes gold again on her latest LP, Queen and Elf. A vibrant, sensual, and aromatic garden of spiritual jazz, bossa nova, hip hop, neo soul, and electronica, it’s a mammoth undertaking encompassing an expansive crew of top-notch musicians, songwriters, and jazz heavyweights — with Xi as the architect. Creatively fluid yet cohesive in its conviction and expression, on Queen and Elf Xi has extracted wonders from her dreams, muses, and musical explorations, crafting an album brimming with vitality. Its warm afterglow lingers long after the music ends.     

Fazi 法兹 – Oriental 101 w Future Prairie 东方101与未来马场

Seminal Xi’an post punk outfit Fazi, a band that has been challenging themselves for well over a decade, surveys their long-winded career and newfound lust for rock and roll on their latest album, Oriental 101 w Future Prairie. Touching on every point of their career and their sonic palette, from ethereal and sincere New Order-esque codas to more mania-driven earworms that one can’t help but shake to, the album reworks some of the band’s best (and often times overlooked) songs. It’s a mammoth undertaking, with the band throwing everything but the kitchen sink at their old catalogue. And while not every new sheet of paint works, it’s a crowd-pleasing reintroduction to one of the scene’s most steadfast acts. 

Sleeping Dogs – Cliche 

Instrumental groove masters Sleeping Dogs — a supergroup of Beijing-based indie musicians — return with their latest EP, Cliche, released with Spacefruity Records. With brainy sublime ethno-influenced tunes — think Khruangbin, Fela Kuti or some of Madlib’s more esoteric projects — the band’s spices up their usual blend of Afrobeat, jazz, and funk with dub, library music, and more, giving their bewitching sound a leisurely subtropical touch. Goes down nice and easy. 

Vanishing Queen 褪色女皇 – Dzy Lung Jap Sosy 猪笼入水

An electric eclectic cruise through the golden years of rock and roll in the 70s — garage, hard rock, psychedelic —all the way up to the alt rock of Smashing Pumpkins and hard-edged rock of acts like Queens of the Stone Age, the debut LP from Shanghai’s Vanishing Queen is a blast, start to finish. Big, bold, sexy, and hard-hitting — with a falsetto-fronting frontman who oozes with mystery and sultry charisma — the young band are equal parts lean and smooth, allowing their musical chops to elevate the album’s primal concoction of deviant pleasures.  

vampoleez – Proper Punch 

Electronic dance music fresh from the streets of Chengdu: electronic producer vampoleez emerges from the shadows on his new EP Proper Punch, released on Mintone Records. Taking in the producer’s affinity for UK Garage, breakbeat, hip hop and contemporary R&B, it’s an spirited romp crafted with a love for the dance floor and a sense of kinetic fun (cartoon prat fall samples even make their way into the mix) — with guest spots courtesy of R&B singer Dizkar as well as rapper Ma Yi. A breezy bubbly affair that acts as the perfect pregame to a night on the town. 

Ju Ju 踽踽 – 走走

Ju Ju, an act that has quietly resided in the shadows of Beijing’s indie scene for a decade, comes to the surface with the release of their debut EP, the idiosyncratic and inspired 走走(Zouzou). With shades of improvisational and offbeat rhythms that twist through everything from city pop to math rock, and an art pop veneer that keeps the mood spry and woozy (there’s no denying a good “woohoo”), it’s a world unto itself, rich in details and artistic swings. Following the theme of “walking,” each track moves at its own harmonious pace, leading listeners across lavish, intricate arrangements. 

三册柏SANCEBAI x 天夫 Tian Fu x 金跳造 Jin Tiaozao – Wuhuiyou 无回游 

Experimental hip hop that pushes the art form to new and inspiring directions, Wuhuiyou (which stands for “no return voyage”) finds PhD student-turned-rapper Tian Fu (aka Professor Tian) recruiting esteemed hip hop acts Treasure Hill and Jin Tiaozao for his doctoral project, which explores a fusion of art music and Chinese rap as well as the slippery nature of memory. It’s a fascinating collage — dramatic, absurd, poignant and unconventional — rich in both narrative and atmosphere as its stream-of-consciousness poetic prose ebbs and flows alongside subtle electronic flourishes and mystifying beats. Ripe with details both sonically and lyrically, it all but demands your attention.

Ghostmass – Ghost Meditation/Improvisation for Dusty Ballz

Ghostmass — a Beijing supergroup consisting of seminal Chinese experimental musician Yan Jun, Li Qing and Li Weisi of Carsick Cars and Soviet Pop fame, and (my favorite) professional aquascaper Yang Kuku — set loose their cauldron of drone, death, industrial, and doom metal on two concurrent releases on Sino-French label WV Sorcerer and London-based Dusty Ballz. While Ghost Meditation relishes the build-up, the atmosphere, and the “meditative sonic intensity that lies between drone/doom and harsh noise,” the second release, the aptly named Improvisation for Dusty Ballz, is a full-on assault on your spiritual being — a cacophony of feedback, muddy drums, static noise, and rabid shrieks that sounds loony in the best possible way. A fever dream of Lovecraftian proportions, it’s a glorious encapsulation of the band’s wavelength: a window into the madness that lies beneath the surface of our human realm.

Yepusa 野菩萨 – 酒肉

Indie rock outfit Yepusa makes a hell of an entrance on their sultry debut Jiurou, an eclectic collection of songs that touches on everything from spry garage rock to crunchy post punk. Led by the airless and disarming voice of Yu Qing and decked out with a loose-yet-dynamic band that keeps the hooks tight and the beat steady (and really, you cannot go wrong with cowbell), there’s an almost effortless charisma to the band’s melodies. And while their pop sensibilities may swallow them whole in the future, at the moment Yepusa are the perfect tonic to an indie scene too timid with itself. 

NoTrace 不留行 – Rebirth Notes 再生笔记

Beijing outfit No Trace have cut the cord tying them to their post-industrial roots, giving their latest LP, Rebirth Notes再生笔记, a warm melancholic temperament. While their instrumental heft and complex arrangements remain as rich as ever, the band seems more in line with acts like Soundtoy and Glow Curve, crafting an exquisite, immersive, lush, and lyrical world that’s both delicate and potent; psychedelic and somber. Stirring, bewitching, and solemn in all the right ways, No Trace’s transformation here is one of the year’s best surprises. 

Banner image by Haedi Yue.